Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at launch of multiple development initiatives & release of 13th Instalment of PM-KISAN at Belagavi, Karnataka
Bharat Mata Ki – Jai!
Bharat Mata Ki – Jai!
नम्मा, सबका साथ सबका विकास मंत्रदा, स्फूर्तियादा, भगवान बसवेश्वर, अवरिगे, नमस्कारागळु।
बेलगावियाकुंदा, मत्तुबेलगावियाजनाराप्रीती, एरडू, मरियलागदासिहि, बेलगाविया, नन्नाबंधुभगिनियरिगे, नमस्कारागळु।
The love and blessings of the people of Belagavi are incomparable. This love and blessings inspire all of us to work day and night for your service. Your blessings become an inspiration for us. Coming to the land of Belagavi is no less than a pilgrimage. This is the land of Kittur Rani Chennamma and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna. The country still remembers them for their bravery and for raising their voice against slavery.
Friends, Belagavi has always played an important role in the freedom struggle or the ‘Navnirman’ of India after that. Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about start-ups in Karnataka. But in a way, start-ups started in Belagavi 100 years back. Yes, 100 years ago! I have come here to remind you about that. Baburao Pusalkar ji had established a small unit here 100 years back. Since then, Belagavi has become a huge base for various industries. It is this role of Belagavi that the double engine government wants to strengthen further in this decade.
Brothers and sisters, the projects that have been inaugurated or the foundation stone of the projects laid today will give a new impetus to the development of Belagavi. These projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees are related to connectivity and water supply. On this occasion, I congratulate all of you for all these development plans which will accelerate the pace of the development of this region.
Today, the entire India has also got a gift from Belagavi. Today every farmer of India has been linked with Karnataka, Belagavi. Today, another installment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi has been sent from here. By pressing just one button, 16,000 crore rupees have reached the bank accounts of crores of farmers of the country.
My Rythu Bandhu brothers sitting here must have received the message on their mobile phones. The people of the world also wonder that such a huge amount of 16,000 crore rupees goes directly in the account of the farmers in a moment and that too without any middleman or corruption. The then Prime Minister of the Congress party said if the Centre sends one rupee then only 15 paise reaches the beneficiaries. Had it been 16,000 crore rupees, then you can imagine that about 12,000-13,000 crore rupees would have disappeared somewhere. But this is Modi's government. Every penny belongs to you and it is meant for you. I congratulate the farmer brothers and sisters of the entire country, including Karnataka. This is the Holi gift to my farmers ahead of the Holi festival.
Brothers and sisters, today's changing India is giving priority to every deprived while making strides in development. Small farmers were also neglected in our country for decades. There are 80-85 per cent small farmers in India. Now these small farmers are the priority of the BJP government. So far, about 2.5 lakh crore rupees have been deposited in the bank accounts of small farmers of the country through the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. 2.5 lakh crore rupees! And this includes more than 50,000 crore rupees that have been deposited in the accounts of our mothers and sisters who are involved in farming. This money is meeting the small needs of the farmers. Now they do not have to beg for these expenses or go to money lenders who charge a very high interest.
Friends, the country is continuously moving towards a meaningful change in agriculture since 2014. The BJP government is connecting agriculture with modernity and is preparing agriculture for the future. When we got the opportunity to serve the country in 2014, India's agriculture budget was 25,000 crore rupees. Will you remember the figure of the budget for agriculture this year? Will you remember? Say it louder, will you remember? See, when you gave us the opportunity to serve the country in 2014, India's agriculture budget was 25,000 crore rupees. How much? 25,000 crore rupees! At present, our agriculture budget is more than 1.25 lakh crore rupees. That is, there has been an increase of five times. This shows the seriousness and promptness of the BJP government in helping the farmers. We emphasized on technology which is also benefiting the farmers.
Would it have been possible had Jan Dhan bank accounts, mobile connections and Aadhaar were not there? Our government is also connecting more and more farmers with Kisan Credit Cards. The effort is that the farmers should always have the facility of getting help from the banks. Friends, this year's budget addresses the present condition of our agriculture as well as the needs of the future.
The need of the hour is for storage, to reduce the cost of agriculture and to organize small farmers. Therefore, emphasis has been given in this year’s budget to create hundreds of new storage facilities. Along with this, there has been an unprecedented focus on the expansion of cooperatives. Several steps have also been taken to promote natural farming. Natural farming is going to reduce the cost of the farmers a lot. The biggest problem faced by the farmers involved in natural farming is fertilizers and pesticides. Now thousands of help centers will be set up to help the farmers in this regard. Chemical fertilizer increases the cost of farming. Now we have started the PM-PRANAM scheme. The states reducing the use of chemical fertilizers will get additional help from the Centre. Brothers and sisters, we are determined to give new life to our rural economy keeping in mind the future challenges of the country's agriculture.
Today, our farmers are experiencing many challenges due to climate change. Therefore, we will have to revisit the strength of our old traditions. Our coarse grains are able to withstand every season, every situation and it is also super food. The coarse grain is also more nutritious. Therefore, we have given a new identity to coarse grains as Shree Anna in this year’s budget. And Karnataka is an important center in the world in terms of Shree Anna. Shree Anna is already called Siri Dhanya here. The farmers here grow many types of Shree Anna. The BJP government of Karnataka under the leadership of our Chief Minister also helps the farmers in this regard. I remember the huge campaign that Raita Bandhu Yediyurappa ji had launched here to promote Shree Anna. Now we have to take Shree Anna to the whole world. The cost of growing Shree Anna is also less and it consumes less water. Therefore, it is going to give double benefit to the small farmers.
Friends,
Sugarcane is produced in abundance in this region. The BJP government has always kept the interests of the sugarcane farmers paramount. An important decision related to sugarcane farmers has been taken in this year's budget also. Tax exemption has been given on payments made by sugar cooperatives before 2016-17. As a result, the sugar cooperatives will be relieved of the burden of 10,000 crore rupees by the previous UPA government. You must be aware that our government is laying emphasis on the production of ethanol. With the increase in production of ethanol, the income of sugarcane farmers is also increasing. The ethanol blending in petrol has increased from 1.5 per cent to 10 per cent in the last nine years. Now the government is pursuing the target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol. The more the country moves in this direction, the more our sugarcane farmers will be benefited.
Brothers and sisters, better connectivity plays a huge role in agriculture, industry, tourism or education. Therefore, we are focusing a lot on the connectivity of Karnataka in the last few years. The total budget of the Railways in Karnataka was 4,000 crore rupees in the five years before 2014, whereas 7,500 crore rupees have been earmarked for the Railways in Karnataka this year. Currently, railway projects worth about 45,000 crore rupees are underway in Karnataka. You can imagine how many people are getting employment in Karnataka due to these projects.
The modern railway station of Belagavi makes everyone surprised as well as proud. Not only have the facilities increased due to this modern railway station, but the trust of the people in the Railways is also growing. Earlier, people used to see such magnificent stations only in foreign countries. Now such stations are also being developed in India. Many railway stations of Karnataka are being transformed in a modern avatar. With the doubling of the Londa-Ghataprabha line, the journey will now be faster and safer. Similarly, the new rail lines on which work has started today will also strengthen the rail network in this region. Belagavi is a major center in terms of education, health and tourism. Therefore, these sectors will also benefit from better rail connectivity.
Brothers and sisters, the double engine government of BJP is the guarantee of rapid development. The Jal Jeevan Mission is an example of how the double engine government works. As of 2019, only 25 per cent of households in villages in Karnataka had a tap water connection. Today, the coverage of tap water in Karnataka has increased to more than 60 per cent due to the active efforts of our Chief Minister and the double engine government. In Belagavi too, less than 2 lakh houses used to get tap water. Today this number has crossed 4.5 lakh. This year’s budget has allocated 60,000 crore rupees for tap water so that our village sisters do not have to struggle for water.
Brothers and sisters, the BJP government is engaged in empowering every small section of society, which was not taken care of by the previous governments. Belagavi has been a city of artisans and handicrafts men. It has been famous as Venugram i.e. bamboo village. You would remember that earlier governments banned the harvesting of bamboo for a long time. We changed the law and opened the way for bamboo cultivation and trade. It has greatly benefited the artists involved in bamboo work. Apart from bamboo, there are a lot of other crafts here as well. For the first time in this year's budget, we have come up with the PM Vishwakarma Yojana for such friends. This scheme will provide all kinds of help to all such friends.
Friends, today when I have come to Belagavi, I would definitely like to speak on one more issue. Let me remind you how the Congress hates Karnataka. Insulting Karnataka leaders is part of the old Congress culture. Anyone who causes problems to the special family members of the Congress is humiliated in the Congress.
History is the witness how Congress leaders like S. Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil ji were humiliated by the party. The people of Karnataka are aware of this. Now once again another leader from Karnataka has been humiliated in front of a special family of the Congress. Friends, I have a lot of respect for Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji, the son of this soil who has had a parliamentary term of 50 years. He has tried whatever he could in the service of the people. But I was saddened to see the treatment meted out to Kharge ji, the oldest person and the most senior leader in politics, during the Congress party session in Chhattisgarh. And he is also the party president. It was a very sunny day, but the oldest and senior leader and the Congress president Kharge ji was not given the umbrella to protect from the sun. However, an umbrella was arranged for someone else next to him.
Kharge ji may be the Congress President, but the whole world is watching the treatment given to him and knows who has the remote control of the party. Today many parties of the country are bound in the same clutches of nepotism. We have to free the country from these clutches. Therefore, the people of Karnataka also have to be careful with parties like Congress. And these Congress people have become so desperate that they think that they will not be able to do anything till Modi is alive. Therefore, these people are chanting: ‘Let Modi die, Let Modi die’. Some people are busy digging my grave. They are saying: ‘Modi, your grave will be dug, Modi, your grave will be dug’. However, the country is saying: ‘Modi, your lotus will bloom’.
Friends, when work is done with true intention, there is proper development. The intention of the double engine government is also true and its commitment to development is also firm. Therefore, we have to maintain this faith. We have to move ahead together in order to speed up the development of Karnataka and the country. We will be able to fulfil the dream of developing the country with ‘Sabka Prayas’ . I got a little late to this function today. It was an unprecedented sight to see mothers, sisters, elders and children welcoming me all the way to Belagavi since I alighted from the helicopter.
I bow my head and thank the people of Belagavi, Karnataka for this love. Today my visit to Karnataka is also special because I was in Shivamogga this morning to inaugurate the airport and I had the privilege of meeting the people of Karnataka at the airport there. At the same time, I got an opportunity to wish our senior leader Yeddyurappa ji on his birthday. And when I came here from Shivamogga, you showered your love and blessings. I assure you my dear brothers and sisters of Belagavi and Karnataka I will return your love and blessing by developing Belagavi and Karnataka. Thank you very much once again. Speak with me – Bharat Mata Ki – Jai, Bharat Mata Ki – Jai, Bharat Mata Ki -- Jai
Thank you very much!
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.